Breaking News- Massive box art at Botch's

They are here.

They are up and live.

Edited Headmaster era box art at Botch's Box Art Archive. It took the team consisting of Botch, Ginraii, Prial, Slim, ThunderThruster and myself, approximately 2 weeks and a bit to get all these up but they are here, in all their grandeur...

Check out Botch's original post here: Head Formation of Friendship

Now if I can just get my hands on Ginraii's 600dpi photoshop format edit for C-114 Fortress Maximus... heh.

Neil Gaiman book signing

As a general rule, I endeavour to keep the contents of this site Transformer in nature, or at the very least, Transformer related.

Today's post may be an exception to that general rule.

I wish I could name an instance where Neil 'the master of modern fantasy' Gaiman was linked to the Transformers. That way, I could at least pass this off as 'a Transformer related entry'. I know of no such instance (but I will try to connect this to Transformers, somehow).

All I can say is how profoundly Gaiman's body of work had and still continues to influence me. The Song of Orpheus (Sandman Special #1) was the first ever Gaiman book I picked up, when I was but a tot, in 1991. It was so gripping that I started following The Sandman series and reading its back issues. This was by all accounts abnormal back then, what with superstars like Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Whilce Portacio and Marc Silvestri being on the rise; what with the formation of image comics... these were all the rage back then.

Still, for me, there was nothing like Sandman. Nothing quite like Gaiman's writing. Writing that hits all the right notes and resonates into the deepest recesses of the psyche.

I have over the years read and re-read The Sandman more times than I can put a finger to, and just as quickly read everything else he writes, whether comic, illustrated picture book or novel.

Today. 6th May 2008. Books Kinokuniya at the Galleries Victoria. Sydney city.

I met Neil Gaiman, in-the-person.

I met my idol. I spoke to him. I had books signed by him. And I shook hands with him.

For me, it was truely momentous. It was earth-shattering. It was awesome.

I got signatures and doodles for the following:

• Absolute Sandman (volume 1)
• Marvel 1602
• Fragile Things (first print)
• Stardust (illustrated hardcover) (for godmum)
• Stardust (illustrated hardcover) (for sis)

Here I have Neil signing my copy of Absolute Sandman, not just at any page, but on the cover of issue #08- The sound of her wings.


'Could you sign here please? I'm aware this is a significant issue for The Sandman and your career at that time' I said.

'It still is, you know' he answered.

He voluntarily shook my hand before I left, probably as a result of my gf telling him that I waited 18 years to meet him in person and that I cajoled 3 other people to attend with me so I could get more things signed.



Above: Me shaking hands with Neil Gaiman, as much a hero to me as Optimus Prime is. (ahh, I made the Transformer connection!)

***

Some Neil Gaiman sites...
- NeilGaiman.com
- Neil Gaiman's journal
- Books by Neil Gaiman
- Neil Gaiman's Sandman

Preview of Box Art edits

I cleaned out my schedule over the weekend to Help the Archive edit box art. I've done 9 so far. Here is a little preview since they might not go live on Botch's site just yet.

At full size, these babies are 600 dpi, about 2000 pixels across, are sharp as knifes and clear as crystal.

Top row: Raiden, Cyclonus (Targetmaster), Scourge (Targetmaster)
Middle row: Pointblank, Crosshairs, Sureshot
Bottom row: Slugslinger, Triggerhappy, Misfire

Box art breaking news

Even more sensational than the previous Victory box art finds (here and here), this could be the Transformers box art breaking news of the year.

Just when I was deliberating on the reasons for getting a C-114 Fortress Maximus and about why its box art is quite important to me, Botch the Crab had managed to obtain a huge treasure house of G1 unobstructed box art from the Headmasters era- 32 Transformers in total!

He found the box art on the now 'vintage' Pioneer Transformers Headmasters laserdisc set. Yup, its the laserdisc set, not the dvd set, if that is any indication of its vintage-ness. This find is made all the greater because it contains the unobstructed box art of C-114 Fortress Maximus!

I would have volunteered to edit that but fellow TF Fan Ginraii beat me to the punch.

So far, I've helped the archive edit 9 TFs: Raiden, Cyclonus (Targetmaster), Scourge (Targetmaster), Pointblank, Sureshot, Crosshairs, Slugslinger, Triggerhappy and Misfire.

Fellow TF fans Slim and Prial are also assiting with edits.

Check out Botch's Box Art Archive for updates of these new crystal clear images.

The New Quest

Related previous chapter: The Big Move Epilogue

*Kudos to Deadpool/ Den-O for guessing right before I even started penning this chapter!*

Due to the slight discomfort I spoke about in the previous chapter, Fortress Maximus was to be my next acquisition. Also, knowing myself, it must be an MIB one at the very least- no matter the cost.

Fortress Maximus.

I turned the thought over in my head a couple of times. 'Which one?' I asked myself.

Which one?

Certainly not the RiD reissue, since I have 2; Certainly not Grand Maximus, since I have that guy. So its a toss up between either a USA boxed one or a Japanese boxed one. Normally and as I always do, I will go for the US boxed one but in this instance there was more to consider.

A year ago, I had the chance to acquire a US boxed Fortress Maximus from Hong Kong. At SGD$750, but with a broken Cerebros and yellowed/ yellowing parts, I declined to buy it. One of the reasons actually, was also that the US Fortress Maximus box art was, I thought, less than impressive.

Now, when I'm definitively getting a Fort Max, I'm faced with the further choice of either still going for the US boxed one or the Japanese boxed one. I quickly decided that the Jap box Fort Max is the way to go because:

• It has such sweet box art. Much more beautiful than the US box art.

• It comes with a Master Sword and having seen from my Grand Maximus how impressive one of these babies were, I thought there is no harm in getting another.

• C-114, Jap box Fort Max is in recent times becoming even rarer than what was previously the already rare C-311 Grand Maximus. I have gotten confirmation of this from my circle of collectors and toy shop owners in both Singapore and Hong Kong. In short, its a of better investment value.

USA box package art (left) versus Japanese box package art (right) (images from Botch's Box Art Archive)

The verdict is out: The quest is for Fortress Maximus, it is for C-114, Fortress Maximus in japanese box.

Next: The Acquisition

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Real all Fortress Maximus chapters!
Chapter 01: The New Quest
Chapter 02: The Acquisition
Chapter 03: It is here

***
Related articles

The Big Move chapters:
Chapter 01: The Big Move
Chapter 02: Their New Home
Chapter 03: Shelves zoom in!
Chapter 04: Epilogue
Chapter 05: The New Quest

Bluestreak (part 02) - His special place

I'd like to think that Bluestreak holds a special place in more than my heart- he holds a special place in the history of G1 as well.

Why?

I can at the moment think of 3 reasons:

[1] The blue Bluestreak controversy
It is basic knowledge among fans that while the Bluestreak box art and package pictures depict a predominantly blue coloured Bluestreak, the toy is anything but- in fact, the actual toy is almost entirely silver in colour. This begs the 24 year question of 'why didn't Hasbro release Bluestreak in his microman blue colour?'


The mythical blue Bluestreak

[2] Bluestreak is in every Transformer package
I'm sure a portion of G1 fans would have realized this, and I certainly did when I picked up my first Series 1 Transformer. In the 'Study your Transformer's Tech Specs' section of the instructions, it is the Bluestreak tech spec that is used as an illustration. Since this section of the instructions is present in all Autobot and Decepticon G1 toys up to 1990, bar carded ones, Bluestreak is by default in every Transformer package!

There are 2 versions of this- the first appeared only in Series 1 (1984) instructions and is fully coloured; the second appears from Series 2 (1985) onwards till the end of G1 and is not fully coloured. It is noteworthy that Series 1 toys who were also released as part of Series 2 (and in some countries as Series 3) had fully coloured instructions but a tech spec section that is not fully coloured. See below.


Coloured Bluestreak tech spec used as example (found in the instructions of 1984 Series 1 toys only)


Non-coloured Bluestreak tech spec used as example (found in the instructions of TFs from 1985 to 1988)


Non-coloured Bluestreak tech spec with bar chart overlay (found in the instructions of TFs from 1989 to 1990s)


[3] Parts mix up
It is also basic knowledge that Bluestreak, Prowl and Smokescreen were cut from the same mold, and had similar parts. There appears to be a mix up of launchers, whether deliberate or not.

Bluestreak came with red launchers, Prowl with silver and Smokescreen with white. These were, again, at odds with the toy depicted in their respective packages. From the pictures on the package, Bluestreak was to have silver launchers, Prowl white and Smokescreen red. This was corrected to a limited extent in that the Bluestreaks released with Series 2, in 1985, did in fact come with silver launchers.

Another mix up issue that is perhaps a little less known is the base material colour of the gun and 3 missiles that came with the launchers. This base colour, which can be seen once the chrome has faded/ been worn off/ scratched off, should correspond with the colour of the launchers. That is to say that if a Bluestreak toy came with red launchers, the base material colour of his gun and 3 missiles will be red as well; white launchers will come with guns and missiles with a white base material colour and so on.

It is thus easy to identify whether a 'complete' vintage Bluestreak, Prowl or Smokescreen is truly complete in the sense that it has all the parts it originally came with or that a seller simply mixed and meshed parts together to sell the unsuspecting buyer an apparently 'complete' toy. And that, is a word from the wise for eBay rookies.

With Bluestreak having such a profound importance to the G1 line, it is little surprise that I hit the roof when Hasbro and Takara, in recent times, purported to call him Silverstreak.

Next: What's in a name?

***
Read all Bluestreak chapters!
Chapter 01: A (re) introduction
Chapter 02: His special place
Chapter 03: What's in a name?

Would you buy it?

I mean I always knew things here were more expensive than they have a right to be.

A couple of days ago, my colleague who's on secondment here from Hong Kong remarked about how expensive things were here. I said 'yeah', went on a little rant and forgot about it.

So I was at Books Kinokuniya today looking to buy some Neil Gaiman books in preparation for his book signing next week, which I reckon would be an earth shattering moment... then I saw it.

Encore Starscream.

AU$144.95.
AU$144.95? WHAT in the name of the universe?!? $145 for an Encore Starscream? Suddenly, my colleague's words and all that I've said in 'How do prices like these make commercial sense?' hit me like an epiphany.

If expensive comes in gradations, it would range from expensive, to very expensive, to very very expensive, to ridiculously expensive, but this instance would go beyond the final gradation- $145 for an Encore Starscream is stupid expensive- it is so expensive it goes beyond ridiculous and enters the realm of stupid.

That amount of dosh can buy 3 Encore Starscreams from BBTS US, shipped to Australia; it can buy 4 Encore Starscreams from any shop in Singapore or Hong Kong with change to spare for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The proliferation of the internet and internet shopping means that a person can choose to buy a product from anywhere in the world and at anytime. It means that retailers must compete in the global marketplace rather than confine themselves to the local market. It is not a choice they can make, it is a reality. Why would any reasonable person with internet access and spending capacity buy a cash-and-carry item from a shop here when they can with a few clicks of the mouse have the very same item shipped to their doorstep? And why don't retailers realize that?

I just cannot understand how Encore Starscream and most every other thing for sale here can be thus priced. Where is the basis? What is the justification? Are the people pricing it (1) oblivious to market price; (2) mistaken about its relative availability in Australia; or (3) just plain vultures?

I suspect I'm going to lose sleep thinking about the whys and wherefores...